1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a strain reliever for a lead of an implantable heart stimulator, said lead including at least one electric cable having an electric conductor, and said strain reliever comprising a body of electrically conducting material in electric contact with the electric conductor, which body is lockable in a position in electric contact with electric circuitry of the heart stimulator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When applying a pulling force to a conventional heart stimulator lead having coil conductors part of the pulling force is absorbed by the coils, however, the weld joint of the conductors to connector pins have appeared to be weak points with an apparent risk of breakage. To try to reduce this risk of breakage different strain relief means have been suggested. In e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,734 a strain relief collar of for instance silicon rubber is described. The collar is surrounding the connector pin and the terminal end of the lead. Another example is disclosed in United States Patent Application Publication 2004/0106964 wherein a strain relief tube which is mounted on a connector unit of a heart stimulator couples the lead body to this connector unit.
In new lead technology the coil conductor is often replaced by a cable having a straight electric conductor. Such a lead structure will make the lead body stiff in longitudinal direction and a pulling force in the lead will be applied practically in its entirety to the weld joint of the lead to the connector pin or ring.
The risk of breakage at the point where the cable is welded, at the connector end of the lead, is thus increased in this new lead structure. For an example of such a new lead structure the force needed to break the cable itself is more than 30 N, whereas a force of about 17 N has appeared to be sufficient for breaking the weld.